Rich Man / Poor Man
There once was a certain rich man who saw a poor man singing as he worked. The rich man envied the poor man's happiness. His envy turned to anger and in anger the rich man burned the rushes that the poor man used for weaving baskets. Without baskets, the poor man would not be able to sell them in the marketplace to provide for his modest needs. And not only were the rushes burned but his small house also caught fire and was destroyed.
The law took the rich man, found him guilty of community destruction, and as punishment banished him to a distant island for two years. Also, with the poor man's approval, the wise Judge requested the poor man accompany the rich man so they might learn to live in harmony with each other. Now the poor man was always eager for a new adventure and since he was left with nothing to make a living on, he willing accepted the Judges' request.
They soon arrived on the island and for the first time in his life the rich man had no servant to wait upon him, no one to prepare his meal, and no one to carry out his demands. The rich man, who had been accustomed to every convenience, did nothing but sit on the beach and curse the Judge who had been so unfair.
That night he trembled with fear and went without food all of the next day until he nearly gave in to total despair. By the end of the first day he realized that he would be eating well if only he had the leftovers he once threw away after each of his lavish meals back home.
The poor man, on the other hand, was well adapted to such hardships since from childhood he was forced to provide for his own needs. He immediately began to make use of what the island offered and quickly constructed a sturdy shelter to protect himself from the frequent rains. Then he set out to satisfy his hunger by gathering an ample variety of wild plants which he knew to be edible. And well before dark he also provided himself with eating utensils by cutting and polishing a familiar species of hard drift wood from the beach. Soon, he was quite comfortable and satisfied with his labors.
On the second day, he began to investigate his new surroundings and it wasn't long before he met a small group of native islanders. They admired his style of woven hats and baskets, so much so, that he began to spend most of his time weaving. In exchange, he was provided with every possible comfort by his new neighbors.
The rich man, as you can imagine, became increasingly desperate and finally begged the poor man for help. The poor man agreed to share his food with him if the rich man would gather the rushes he needed for weaving. The rich man happily agreed.
While the rich man gathered rushes, the poor man taught the island children about other people from around the world. Before long, the poor man's original shelter was replaced with a larger and more comfortable one by grateful parents and the rich man joyfully moved into the poor man's small shelter. In this way, the rich man began to serve the poor man and thus the two years of exile passed.
At the end of two years, the day finally came to return home. The poor man was greatly loved by the islanders and they all came to bid him farewell. They sorrowfully waved their woven hats back and forth as the departing boat moved slowly away from shore. The rich man watched quietly.
Immediately upon their arrival, the wise Judge called the rich man and the poor man before him. He asked the rich man if he had learned to love his neighbor? -- for if not, he feared he would again be a danger to the community.
"From my childhood," said the rich man, "I only knew great wealth, and yet, I was poor because of it. I never gave any thought to the kind of learning that might help me become self-reliant and never cared to live providently. But now that I have known want, I am richer because of it. I realize that my self-indulgence and greed was the cause of my own unhappiness."
"Now that I have been restored to my inheritance," continued the rich man, "I wish to divide half my wealth and property with the man who once bore the consequences of my envy."
Thus, were they reconciled, rich and poor, to a new life -- both richer than before.
(Adapted from The History of Sandford and Merton"; "The Gentleman and the Basket-maker", pages 22 to 27.)
